READ THE CITIZENS' VOICE

Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital e-Edition of The Citizens' Voice on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at citizensvoice.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device or email, read the e-Edition, sign up for daily newsletters, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Contact Us
See department contacts, frequently asked questions, request customer service support, submit a photo or place an ad.

At 16 years old, Nuhamin Minda traveled 7,175 miles to get an education that could launch her into the field of software engineering.

She always wanted to study in the U.S., and thought if the chance came earlier it would prepare her for college. She told her parents she wanted to study at a boarding school, and like any other parents of teenagers, they took her decision with a grain of salt. They told her to find a school and if she found a good one, then she could go.

“At first they thought I was joking. They didn’t expect me to find a school,” she laughed. “I was scrolling through the list and was looking for schools who were still enrolling because I was pretty late and I found Wyoming Seminary. I went through the website and liked it. Then my parents did their research and they said OK. I got accepted and came. That was it.”

Nuhamin is now 17 years old, a senior at Wyoming Seminary living in Swetland Hall on the Kingston campus. She is beginning the college application process, applying to schools such as Cornell University and University of California, Berkeley. She credits the school for helping her find her passion for computers — at first she wasn’t sure about computer science because her old school didn’t have the resources to study it. Wyoming Seminary exposed her to what she wanted, and now she is achieving her goals — though a year ago, it seemed like it was never going to happen.

“I was very homesick the first term. It was very hard getting used to everything,” Nuhamin said. “The curriculum was very different. I used to go to British school in Ethiopia, and it was just different the way questions were asked and how they asked us to write essays, then add that on top of homesickness and it was terrible.”

The turning point for Nuhamin was when she started asking her teachers for help and opening up to those who wanted and were able to help her.

“I told them my problems and they came up with solutions to help me,” she said. “I made so many friends here as well, everyone is really great. All the teachers, all the dorm parents and all the students here are really supportive. The dorm community is my second family.”

This sense of community is what catapulted Nuhamin toward becoming the involved student she is today. She is a resident assistant in her dorm on campus, a member of the school’s dance company, the True Blue club, the baking club, the international club and the Model United Nations. Her very active social schedule is a far cry from her life in Ethiopia.

“In Ethiopia, it’s just how everybody is; they don’t talk loud and they can’t express themselves,” she explains, “It’s still really hard for me to do it because it is not what we’re used to. I don’t know why, it’s just been like that. I think it is a very important skill to have; you need to be able to express yourself and tell people how you are feeling. If you don’t describe yourself, nobody else can do it for you.”

As a resident assistant, she helps faculty around the dorm and helps students with anything they need. As a member of the True Blue Club, she helps with admissions and gives families tours of campus.

Nuhamin credits Wyoming Seminary for helping her become more outgoing and expressive, and said her involvement with the school’s activities is a way to give back.

One student Nuhamin has definitely helped is her younger sister, Salem, who came to Sem last year because of her sister’s encouragement. The two sisters live together and help ease each other’s homesickness.

“After the first week, she said to me, ‘I don’t know how I would have done this if you weren’t already here. I would have no idea what to do,’” she said. “She has helped me too; it is always good to have someone.”

Nuhamin states that the thing she misses most about Ethiopia is the food and the culture. Her native country celebrates holidays differently — Christmas or New Year’s Day are on different days, for example — however, what she misses about those holidays is universal.

“Whenever we would have a holiday, school would be closed and my whole family would be at my grandparents house just eating and being with each other. I really miss that,” she said. “I also miss kitfo, which is minced meat with Ethiopian butter, which is regular butter but they melt it and put in Ethiopian spices, and then it is frozen again. They use it to make everything and it just makes our food taste really different and good. Also, everything you eat is with your hands; we don’t use forks often.”

Nuhamin does go home over the summer, just as any student, but unlike other teenagers, when Nuhamin goes home she spends her summer interning at a research and development company as well as a charity that helps feed and educate children ages three to 12. She interned at iCog Labs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she helped advance science and technology with a special focus on artificial intelligence and on the use of cutting-edge technology to help leapfrog her country into the future.

“When I get my degree, I do want to go back and open a company. Also, it is mostly males that are doing the computers and woman are involved in the marketing. It is intimidating (to break into the field), and there are more females joining, but it is still not enough,” she said.

Her work with the Muday Association in Kotebe helps “Ethiopia’s most vulnerable” with love and compassion. Nuhamin has been volunteering at the charity, founded to help women and children in need, since she started high school

. Nuhamin teaches math and English to the children who were once on the streets and are now in classrooms.

So despite the initial homesickness and surviving a 30-inch snowstorm last spring, Nuhamin is a dean’s list student who is preparing for college and getting ready to take on the computer world one key stroke at a time.

Contact the writer: sstanich@citizensvoice.com

Bekalu Minda, father, and Meseret Wolde, mother

What successful parenting strategy can you share with other parents?

We’ve always encouraged Nuhamin to follow her dreams and take risks. We try to support all her dreams and do the best we can to make them successful. We never liked making decisions for Nuhamin starting from when she was young we always discussed everything and try to involve her and encourage her to make her own decisions.

At what moment did you realize your child was special?

We realized Nuhamin was special at a very young age. She first shocked us when she was about 10 months old. She accidentally pushed a vase that was on the table and shifted it from its original position, so she went back to fix it and it was from this day on we realized she was extremely cautious of everything she does. Her room has always been organized since she was two and she liked to do it herself, in fact, she always liked to do everything herself which made her grow into such a strong independent woman.

What is the greatest challenge you’ve encountered in raising your child?

The greatest challenge we’ve faced was when Nuhamin moved to a boarding school thousands of miles away from us. We were worried we couldn’t be there as soon as she needed us and couldn’t help her through the stressful time she faced in the beginning of the year, but she turned out successful.

Bekalu Minda, father, and Meseret Wolde, mother

What successful parenting strategy can you share?

We’ve always encouraged Nuhamin to follow her dreams and take risks. We try to support all her dreams and do the best we can to make them successful. We never liked making decisions for Nuhamin starting from when she was young we always discussed everything and try to involve her and encourage her to make her own decisions.

At what moment did you realize your child was special?

We realized Nuhamin was special at a very young age. She first shocked us when she was about 10 months old. She accidentally pushed a vase that was on the table and shifted it from its original position, so she went back to fix it and it was from this day on we realized she was extremely cautious of everything she does. Her room has always been organized since she was 2 and she liked to do it herself, in fact, she always liked to do everything herself which made her grow into such a strong independent woman.

What is the greatest challenge you’ve encountered in raising your child?

The greatest challenge we’ve faced was when Nuhamin moved to a boarding school thousands of miles away from us. We were worried we couldn’t be there as soon as she needed us and couldn’t help her through the stressful time she faced in the beginning of the year, but she turned out successful.